Psychosocial factors at work in the asia pacific

Akihito ShimazuDepartment of Mental Health Graduate School of Medicine The University of Tokyo Bunkyō, Tokyo Japan Rusli Bin Nordin Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences C

Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Paci fic

Akihito Shimazu • Rusli Bin Nordin

Maureen Dollard • Jodi Oakman

Editors

Psychosocial Factors at Work

From Theory to Practice

123

Akihito Shimazu

Department of Mental Health

Graduate School of Medicine

The University of Tokyo

Bunkyō, Tokyo

Japan

Rusli Bin Nordin

Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine

and Health Sciences

Clinical School Johor Bahru

Monash University

Johor Bahru

Malaysia

Maureen DollardSchool of Psychology, Social Workand Social Policy

Asia Pacific Centre for Work Healthand Safety

A World Health Organization CollaboratingCentre in Occupational Health

University of South AustraliaMagill, SA

AustraliaJodi OakmanDepartment of Public HealthCentre for Ergonomics and Human Factors

La Trobe UniversityBundoora, VICAustralia

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-44400-0

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016947757

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

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Part I Policy and Practice Framework in the Asia Pacific

and Beyond

1 State of the Art: The Context of Psychosocial Factors

at Work in the Asia Pacific? 3Jodi Oakman, Maureen Dollard, Akihito Shimazu

and Rusli Bin Nordin

2 International Initiatives to Tackle Psychosocial Risks and

Promote Mental Health in the Workplace: Is There a Good

Balance in Policy and Practice? 23Stavroula Leka and Aditya Jain

3 Macro-Level Policy and Practice Relating to Psychosocial

Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific 45Tessa S Bailey, Yawen Cheng, Awang Idris and Sara Arphorn

4 Guidelines for Primary Prevention

for Mental Health at Work 61Akizumi Tsutsumi and Akihito Shimazu

5 Strategies to Prevent Work-Related Stress

and Cardiovascular Diseases in South Korea 77Jungsun Park

Part II Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific

6 Psychosocial Safety Climate: Past, Present,

and Future Research 89Yulita, Mohd Awang Idris and Maureen Dollard

Future Directions for Job Design Research 135Sharon K Parker and Fangfang Zhang

v

8 Prevalence, Distribution, and Trends of Workplace Violence

and Its Associated Health Problems: Findings from National

Surveys of Taiwan 151Yawen Cheng and Li-Chung Pien

9 Psychosocial Hazards and Musculoskeletal Disorders:

Are There Different Roles for Workplace Factors

Between Office Workers in Malaysia and Australia? 173Jodi Oakman, Ismail Maakip and Tessa Keegel

10 Psychosocial Safety Climate from Two Different

Cultural Perspectives in the Asia Pacific: Iran

and Australia Hospitals 187Ali Afsharian, Amy Zadow and Maureen F Dollard

Part III Practical Approach Towards Healthy Workplaces

and Workers

11 Organizational Tools for Psychosocial Risk Management:

A Critical International Review 205Rachael E Potter, Alice Fattori and Maureen F Dollard

12 Development of the New Brief Job Stress Questionnaire 225Akiomi Inoue, Norito Kawakami, Teruichi Shimomitsu,

Akizumi Tsutsumi, Takashi Haratani, Toru Yoshikawa,

Akihito Shimazu and Yuko Odagiri

13 Occupational Stress and Coping Strategies Among

Malaysian Employees: Where Is the Role of Organizations? 249Rusli Bin Nordin and Cindy Biding Ahin

14 Effects of Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral

Therapy (iCBT) Among Healthy Workers:

Current Research Evidence 257Kotaro Imamura, Norito Kawakami and Akihito Shimazu

15 Organizational Support for Mental Health, Stigmatization

of Employees with Depression and Performance Appraisal:

A Management Simulation Study 267Angela Martin, Elizabeth Hobman, Emma Howarth

and Kyla McDonald

Part IV Practical Approach in Specific Conditions

16 Improving Psychosocial Factors in Small-Scale

Enterprises in Japan and the Asia-Pacific Region 291Jiro Moriguchi, Sonoko Sakuragi and Masayuki Ikeda

17 Health Issues of Workers Engaged in Operations

Related to the Accident at the Fukushima Daiichi

Nuclear Power Plant 307Koji Mori, Seiichiro Tateishi and Koh Hiraoka

18 The Effect of a Nation-Specific Stressor on Well-Being:

Guanxi in Chinese Workplace 325Qiao Hu, Wilmar B Schaufeli and Toon W Taris

19 Beneath the Surface: An Exploration of Remoteness

and Work Stress in the Mines 341Wesley P McTernan, Maureen F Dollard, Michelle R Tuckey

and Robert J Vandenberg

Policy and Practice Framework in the Asia

Pacific and Beyond

Chapter 1

State of the Art: The Context

of Psychosocial Factors at Work

in the Asia Paci fic?

Jodi Oakman, Maureen Dollard, Akihito Shimazu

and Rusli Bin Nordin

Abstract The Asia Pacific is a rapidly growing region with a diverse range ofcountries, both developing and developed Across the region there are significantcultural variations and different work practices, creating a range of challenges forthose charged with the management of workplace health This book addresses animportant gap, by focusing on research in the Asia-Pacific region that explorespsychosocial work environment issues that have a significant influence on workerhealth and productivity Most research concerning psychosocial factors at work isfrom Europe or North America and the generalizability of the research and practicalimplications is not clear Consequently, managers, occupational health and safetypersonnel, human resource professionals, occupational health psychology practi-tioners, and public health professionals in the Asia Pacific have relied on an evi-dence basis with largely untested validity This book extends the work of thefirstedition,“Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific,” applies and tests newand emerging theories, provides insights into different workplace issues pertinent tothe Asia Pacific, and practical insights into the management of psychosocial factors

in the workplace

Keywords Psychosocial
Working conditions
Asia Pacific
Worker health

Hazards
Policy

J Oakman ( &)

Center for Ergonomics and Human Factors, School of Psychology and Public Health,

La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

e-mail: J.Oakman@latrobe.edu.au

M Dollard

Asia-Paci fic Center for Work Health and Safety, School of Psychology, Social Work,

and Social Policy, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

A Shimazu

Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Mental Health, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

R.B Nordin

Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia,

Bandar Sunway, Malaysia

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

A Shimazu et al (eds.), Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Paci fic,

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-44400-0_1

3

Work is good for health, but poor working conditions can result in health erosion

As expounded in the (2008) Seoul Declaration on Safety and Health at Work,access to safe and healthy workplaces is a fundamental human right However,large discrepancies are found in relation to worker health status and exposures toworkplace risk factors between and within countries across the Asia Pacific.This is the second book on psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific Itbuilds on the content from thefirst book, Psychosocial Factors at Work in the AsiaPacific (Dollard et al 2014) The aim of both books is to address a gap in theknowledge about psychosocial factors at work particularly in the Asia Pacific Thislarge and economically diverse region has a wide range of working conditions,from very good to very poor along with high levels of job insecurity Despite theregion being the most populous, most research in thefield has been undertaken inareas outside the region Prior research suggests that, for example, in the area ofoccupational health psychology, only 10 % of the global knowledge published inEnglish emerges from the Asia Pacific (Kang et al.2008) A major challenge across

a range of occupational and health-related disciplinary research approaches (e.g.,occupational health psychology, occupational behavioral medicine, public healthand occupational health and safety) is to produce knowledge that is relevant andpractical, within and across national contexts Both books are intended to help build

a knowledge platform for the region, and this second edition particularly focuses onpractical applications

Psychosocial hazard and risk factors at work refer to those aspects of workorganizations that are of human design and construction, with the potential to causepsychological or physical harm Often, these factors also involve human relations.Psychosocial hazard and risk factors include the organization and management ofwork, the social and relational aspects of work, and job design (Cox and Griffiths

2005) Psychosocial risk factors at work, such as poor organizational climate, workpressure, job insecurity, bullying, violence, and work stress in general, areincreasingly recognized as threats to workers’ psychological and physical healthand safety, as well as to organizational performance and productivity (Commission

on Social Determinants of Health2008)

A lack of awareness and understanding of the relationship between the workenvironment and worker psychosocial wellbeing has hampered the development ofpolicy and occupational health services for work-related psychosocial health innonindustrialized countries (Houtman et al 2007) In 2010, experts from theAsia-Pacific region met in Darwin, Australia, and agreed that a much greatercooperative effort was needed to build a stronger evidence base to address the issuesand contribute to global and local knowledge development, and policies andpractice in the region Thefirst book was a first step to take stock of knowledge,produce new knowledge, and publish material in a common language to increaseawareness of psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific This second bookbuilds on this project, extending the range of psychosocial risks under investigation,

and has a particular focus on practical examples of interventions and actions beingundertaken in the region to address issues relating to psychosocial factors at work inthe Asia Pacific.

For the purpose of this book and the researchers involved in the various projects,the Asia-Pacific region has been defined as follows We have integrated regionsspecified by the International Labor Organization (ILO) (2014) and the WorldHealth Organization (WHO) (2014) We combined the ILO Asia and PacificRegion classification with the WHO Western Pacific Region, and the WHOSouth-East Asia Region These groupings are defined as the Asia-Pacific region Inaddition, Taiwan has been added as an area of significance (see Table1.1).Figure1.1features the significant areas (Christensen2014)

The Asia-Pacific region is very diverse, culturally, ethnically, religiously, andeconomically, and combines some of the richest countries as well as two-thirds of

Table 1.1 Areas of the Asia Paci fic

1 Afghanistan (The Islamic State of) 22 Philippines

5 China (The People ’s Republic of) 26 Solomon Islands

11 Lao People ’s Democratic Republic 32 Bhutan

14 Micronesia (Federated States of) 35 Indonesia

the world’s poor (ILO 2014) The Asia Pacific combines advanced industrializedeconomies (e.g., Japan, Australia), with emerging or newly industrialized (e.g.,India, China) and developing economies (e.g., Vietnam) The regulatory frame-works are very different across the regions (see Chaps.2,3,4,5, and10) and thesubsequent management of psychosocial factors in the workplace varies too (Chaps.

11,12,14,15,16, and17)

Job design is important in the development of effective preventative strategies toreduce psychosocial hazards and risk in the workplace (see Chap.7) However, incountries with high levels of job insecurity, having a poorly designed job is betterthan no job For economically advanced countries such as Australia, New Zealand,and Japan, discussion about the role of job design and the importance of reducingpsychosocial hazards is made possible through the much higher levels of jobsecurity, although this is not uniform across all sectors

Fig 1.1 Map of the Asia-Paci fic region

Psychosocial Factors at Work

In the previous book, new learning emerged about the issues of psychosocial factors

at work The importance of culturally specific tools was explored which found theneed to consider the adaptation of tools and methods to ensure accurate data iscollected in this area

The kinds of issues facing the Asia-Pacific workplaces in developed economies(e.g., Japan, Australia) are common in some respects to other areas of the world

A powerful force shaping the nature of work in the Asia Pacific is globalization(Dollard2007) Taking into account macro or external factors (e.g., national poli-tics, national policies, income inequality, employment conditions), organizationaland individual factors is of key importance to the management of psychosocialfactors at work (see Fig.1.2) As an example, Chap 2 in this book provides acomprehensive coverage of an important external factor, regulatory frameworks,and explores these in a range of countries and provides a background to where thenext steps might be in risk management of the psychosocial work environment inthe Asia Pacific

As was presented in the previous book (Dollard et al.2014), challenges whichthe Asia Pacific face are numerous and linked to neoliberal policies which havestimulated global trade, freed up markets, and increased competition For developedeconomies in the Asia Pacific, this has led to changing labor markets (e.g., unstablelabor markets, job insecurity, and precarious contracts), new forms of production

Fig 1.2 Multilevel model of psychosocial factors at work

(e.g lean production), and in turn work intensification, long working hours,increased workload, work pressure, and poor work-life balance (Van den Bossche

et al.2006) Organizations have adapted by downsizing and restructuring toflatterstructures to improveflexibility and competitiveness (Kawakami2000) We extendexploration of these issues and interventions in this book

Asia-Pacific Academy for Psychosocial Factors at Work was established in 2012following a series of expert meetings across the Asia-Pacific region The overar-ching aim of the Academy is to bring together academics, practitioners, and policymakers from the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, and contribute to better workingarrangements in the region The academy provides a forum to discuss psychosocialfactors at work, to share and generate knowledge, to deliver education and training,

to build greater networks, and to foster opportunities to prevent work injury Theacademy is multidisciplinary in outlook

The executive comprises:

• Foundation President-elect Professor Maureen Dollard and Area Representative

• Executive Officer, Tessa Bailey, Australia

• Chair Research and Development, Dr Michelle Tuckey, Australia

• Chair Education and Training, Professor Rusli Bin Nordin, Malaysia

• Conference Chair, Assistant Professor Sara Arphorn, Area Representative,Thailand

• Membership Officer Professor Paula Brough, Australia

• External Relations Officer, Mikaela Owen, Australia

• Publications officer, Wes McTernan, Australia

• Finance Director, Annabelle Neal, Australia

• Area Representative, Professor Jeong-Ho Chae, South Korea

• Area Representative, Associate Professor Junming Dai, China

• Area Representative, Dr Pham Minh Khuê, Vietnam

• Area Representative, Dr Yawen Cheng, Taiwan

There is also an International Advisory Committee comprising Professor NoritoKawakami, Japan; Professor Christian Dormann, Germany; and Dr Loic Lerouge,France

In April 2014, the Academy was invited to sign a Memorandum ofUnderstanding with The European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology

(EAOHP), on scientific and professional collaboration in the field of occupationalhealth psychology (signed in London on the 16th April 2014 at the EuropeanAcademy of Occupational Health Psychology conference) The MOU includescollaboration for the promotion and development of occupational health psychol-ogy at national, international and global levels within the limits of their missions,strategies, competencies, and resources We very much look forward to thisworking with the EAOHP to achieve better work conditions for people in the AsiaPacific (Fig.1.3).

The Academy also has a relationship with ICBM (International Society ofBehavioral Medicine), whereby Professor Norito Kawakami is a past president In

2014, their official journal, the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine,convened a special issue on behavioral medicine in the Asia Pacific Guest editorswere Akihito Shimazu, Akizumi Tsutsumi, and Kazuhiro Yoshiuch

The Academy has organized six international expert workshops held tively in Australia, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, Australia, and Korea These havebeen highly successful in coordinating and organizing efforts to understand andaddress psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific Many of the plans for-mulated in the meetings have been implemented with great success They include:

consecu-Fig 1.3 Signing the MOU, April 16th 2014; Professor Sergio Iavicoli, President, European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology; Professor Maureen Dollard, President, Asia-Paci fic Academy for Psychosocial Factors at Work; Professor Stavroula Leka, Chair European Academy

of Occupational Health Psychology Conference London

1 A Special Issue of the International Journal of Stress Management titled Theoryand Methods to Prevent and Manage Occupational Stress: Innovations Fromand Around the Globe published in thefirst journal’s issue of 2014, and edited

by Professor Paula Brough, Professor Maureen Dollard, and Dr MichelleTuckey;

2 A successful Australian Research Council grant between the University of SouthAustralia (Professor Dollard and Dr Tuckey) and the University of Malaya (Dr.Awang Idris) Titled The dynamic interplay of physical and psychosocial safety

in frontline healthcare workplaces in Australia and Malaysia, the grant hasinitiated international collaborative research arrangements on psychosocialfactors at work

3 The book, Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific, Dordrecht, TheNetherlands; Springer International Publishing, edited by Maureen Dollard,Akihito Shimazu, Rusli Bin Nordin, Paula Brough, and Michelle Tuckey

4 A second book (this volume), Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacific:From theory to practice edited by Akihito Shimazu, Rusli Bin Nordin, MaureenDollard, and Jodi Oakman

History of the Academy and Coordination in the Asia

Paci fic

In this section, we briefly recap activities until 2013 (these are elaborated in the firstbook), and then outline the activities of the Academy since then Coordinatedefforts for dialogue on psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific began in

2010 (8–9 July) when an expert meeting was convened in Darwin by ProfessorMaureen Dollard and Dr Michelle Tuckey and Professor Paula Brough, fromAustralia Twenty-one experts from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Japan, andGermany, including industry regulators, policy makers, and academics from a range

of disciplines met for two days to discuss psychosocial factors at work in the AsiaPacific

The Second Asia-Pacific Expert Workshop on Psychosocial Factors at Work washeld in Johor Bahru, Malaysia on 7–8 July 2011, hosted by Professor Rusli BinNordin and Ms Cindy Biding Ahin, from the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine &Health Sciences, Clinical School Johor Bahru at Monash University Malaysia.Twenty-eight delegates from Australia, Japan, and different parts of Malaysiaincluding Sabah and Sarawak attended the workshop

The Third Expert Workshop on Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Pacificwas held at the University of Tokyo It was chaired by Associate Professor AkihitoShimazu, and was attended by 46 participants A major outcome of the meeting wasthe official launch of the Asia-Pacific Academy for Psychosocial Factors at Work

on 3 August, 2012

The Fourth Expert Workshop on Psychosocial Factors at Work in the AsiaPacific was held in Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya Province, Thailand, on 28–29November 2013, convened by Assistant Professor Sara Arphorn It was hosted bythe cooperation of Thai academic institutions: the Research Center for InformalWorkers, Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Faculty of Public Health,Mahidol University and the Rajamagala University of Technology, Suan DusitRajabhat University, Suansaranrom Psychiatric Hospital, and Naresuan University.The goals of the workshop were successfully achieved by bringing together aca-demics from the Asia-Pacific region and beyond to discuss psychosocial factors atwork and establish expert networking The workshop welcomed 35 participantsfrom 6 countries: Japan, Australia, China, France, Malaysia, and Thailand Theprogram included a special lecture on participatory action-oriented training for theprevention of psychosocial risks at work in different sectors The lecture consisted

of a talk by Dr Kazutaka Kogi, the President of ICOH, the achievement report fromProf Dr Maureen Dollard, 2 focus group forums on Education and Training andResearch and Practice and 22 oral presentations All participants experienced ThaiMassage on the last day of workshop The workshop ended with good atmosphere

of friends for better working arrangements in the region

The Fifth meeting took place in Adelaide, South Australia as part of theInternational Congress of the International Commission on Occupational Health:Work, Organizational, and Psychosocial Factors (ICOH-WOPS), 17–19 September

2014, Adelaide Convention Center The conference committee was as follows:Conference Chair, Prof Maureen Dollard; Scientific Committee Chair, Dr MichelleTuckey; Organizing Committee Chair, Ms Tessa Bailey; Social Committee Chair,

Committee Member and Media Support, Wesley McTernan; Finance, MirelaGaraplija; Chloe Lidiard, Marketing; Committee Member, Sharron Skelly; andCommittee Member, Karen O’Brien

The conference explored a number of themes including: Psychosocial factors atwork and their relationship with productivity and health; Psychosocial research indeveloping countries; Integrative and interdisciplinary approaches; Prevention andinterventions for workers at risk;‘Hot topics’ such as workplace bullying, sicknessabsence, aging workforce; Organizational factors that promote wellbeing;Managing workers with chronic health disorders and mental health issues; Focus onindustries/occupations at risk, e.g., health workers; Worker health: From research topractice

The ICOH-WOPS conference featured three preconference workshops forattendees as described below:

Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany) and Professor Dieter Zapf(Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany) This workshopaimed to contribute to the use of statistical methodology in the field of occu-pational health psychology by providing a brief overview of reasons for andtypes of longitudinal designs

• Theory development in work stress research: A meta-theoretical approach byProf Jan de Jonge (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands).This workshop aimed to analyze and evaluate theoretical models in the area ofwork stress from a meta-theoretical perspective.

• Precarious employment: Understanding an emerging social determinant ofhealth by Prof Joan Benach (Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain).The conference also featured keynote presentations by:

• Professor Robert Karasek (University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA), From theDemand/Control Model to a Feasible Economy of Innovative and HealthyWork

• Professor Norito Kawakami (University of Tokyo, Japan), Mainstreamingpositive mental health among workers: A new evidence-based approach?

• Professor Stavroula Leka, (University of Nottingham, United Kingdom), Arecurrent policy and practice frameworks appropriate to tackle psychosocial risksand promote mental health in the workplace?

• Professor Sharon Parker (University of Western Australia, Australia), DesigningWork That Works: Future Directions for Job Design Research and Practice.And a State of the Art Address by:

• Associate Professor Joan Benach (Pompeu Fabra University, Spain), HealthInequities: solutions for our Worst Public Health Epidemic

More information on each of the keynote presenters as well as the abstractsfor each talk can be viewed at http://www.unisa.edu.au/Research/Asia-Pacific-Center-for-Work-Health-Safety/International-Congress-for-Occupational-Health-

• Prof Maureen Dollard, University of South Australia, Chair

• Prof Akinori Nakata, University of Occupational and Environmental Health,Japan (Public Health, Asia Pacific)

• Prof Stavroula Leka, Professor of Work, Health and Policy, Director, Center forOrganizational Health and Development, University of Nottingham, UK(International policy, Europe)

• Prof Peter Schnall, Professor of Medicine, Director, Center for SocialEpidemiology, University of California, Irvine, US (Cardiovascular disease andwork stress) (Fig 1.4)

The conference program also featured oral presentations, symposia, and posterpresentations from 187 contributing authors Awards were given for the best stu-dent oral paper, and the best student poster This year’s winners were:

Best student oral paper award: Irene Niks (Eindhoven University of Technology,Eindhoven, The Netherlands), with her coauthors Jan De Jonge, Josette Gevers, andIrene Houtman for the paper entitled DISCovery: evaluating tailored work-orientedinterventions in hospital care

Best student poster award: Yuya Shimojo (Tohoku University Graduate School

of Medicine, Japan), with his coauthors Kyouko Asakura, Miho Sato, IkueWatanabe for the poster entitled, Relationships between work-family organizationalculture, organizational commitment, and intention to stay in Japanese registerednurses

The proposal for this current book was developed at the Adelaide meeting.The 6th meeting took place in South Korea in 2015 On May 30 2015, members

of the Korean Society of Occupational Stress (KSOS) and APA-PFW met for ajoint conference in city of Seoul (Campus of Seoul National University, College ofNursing) with the theme of Suicide at work and psychosocial health management.Twenty-six experts from 4 countries, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, and Korea par-ticipated Prof Mina Ha (President of KSOS, Dankook University, Korea) andProf Jungsun Park (Advisor of KSOS, Daegu Catholic University) gave the wel-coming address speeches Prof Maureen Dollard gave opening remarks and an

Fig 1.4 The International Congress of the International Commission on Occupational Health: Work, Organizational, and Psychosocial Factors (ICOH-WOPS), 17 –19 September 2014, Adelaide Convention Centre

achievement report on the APA-PFW The morning joint conference session wasmoderated by Dr Sarven McLinton (University of South Australia) and the 6 oralsand 3 posters were presented, which covered a broad scope of psychosocial factors

at work and its management including topics such as “The roles of personalresource of job satisfaction,” “The effect of psychosocial safety climate on workers’emotion,” “Impact of job demand,” “The effects of proximity on work and homerelationships,” and “Workholism versus work engagement.”

A special lecture, “Recommendations for individual participant data(IPD) meta-analyses on work stressors and health outcomes: comments on IPD-Work Consortium papers” by Prof Bongkyoo Choi (University of California,Irvine) was presented with a hot discussion ensuing At the afternoon conference,two keynote presentations were given:“Towards healthy employees in a healthyorganization: From a perspective of work engagement”” by Prof Akihoto Shimazu(University of Tokyo), and “The integration of the assessment of mental healthamong workers into the management” by Prof Jong-Min Woo (Inje University)

It was a day filled with excellent presentations in both English and Korean.There was also time for discussions about actions for the Academy with manyexcellent outcomes As an exercise to help foster collaboration between presentparties, groups were assembled and discussed the possibility of a training program(accredited by the APA-PFW) for psychosocial safety across the Asia Pacific.Current region-specific programs exist, and therefore a more universal program wasproposed

During discussion, members pooled their knowledge and proposed a strategy forprogram development and deployment The following is a brief synthesis of theseideas Identifying key steps for any training development programs that areundertaken by a collaboration of academy members and colleagues were recom-mended as follows: (1) Create a program steering committee; (2) Identify targetaudience; (3) Identify the essence of pre-existing programs; (4) Critique currentprograms; (5) Tool selection and development; and 6) Trainers to deliver program.Best poster presentation award was given to “The implementation of mentalhealth care program for the unemployed: from its development to evaluation” byMiho Takahashi from University of Tokyo

Also at the workshop it was suggested that a database of skills to be created forthose members and colleagues willing to collaborate on projects The database hassince been created by Dr Sarven McLinton and can be accessed via:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A4Goi2MnFZo9S_zLZ1Lhi5YQTtTn0COCpm01wl-

We welcome members and colleagues to use this information as a referencepoint for seeking partners in the Asia Pacific to collaborate with ongoing projects,papers, and presentations

The 7th meeting will take place in October 2016 in Shanghai China, hosted byProfessor Junming Dai

The Current Book

This second book builds on the issues raised in thefirst book and provides furtherdiscussion of psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific It has a particularfocus on practical approaches to developing and then managing health workplaces,

to improve the psychosocial working conditions

The book is presented in 6 parts:

I Introduction

II Policy and practice frameworks in the Asia Pacific and beyond

III Psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Pacific

IV Practical approaches toward developing healthy workplaces and workers

V Practical approaches to the management of psychosocial risk

VI Conclusions

We are delighted that experts have contributed their knowledge and expertise forthis book project We have continued our ethos of encouraging authors for theirregion to work together to produce the chapter, some for the first time, othersbuilding on collaborations developed in thefirst book This book aims to increaseresearch capacity in the region, so authors were invited to contribute based onknowledge of their joint interests The book features inputs from 46 academics, 44from 7 countries across the Asia Pacific

Content

Part I: Introduction

Each chapter introduces the issue, outlines its importance, and provides an view of relevant theoretical perspectives to psychosocial factors at work in a range

over-of countries across the region The specific intent is to place the issue in the context

of the Asia Pacific Case studies, proposed guidelines, and examples of tions are used to highlight the specific issues in the Asia Pacific Each chapter thenprovides a discussion on the overall findings and concludes with highlights andfuture directions in research, policy, and practice for the region

and Beyond

In the second part of this book, three chapters are presented which examine policy andrecommendations for the management of psychosocial factors at work Chapter2

by Leka and Jain reviews international policy and practice initiatives for the

management of psychosocial risks and the promotion of mental health in the place It provides a relevant institutional framework including international organi-zations, regional institutions, stakeholder associations, networks, and professionalbodies Regulatory and nonbinding policy approaches are outlined which are appli-cable at the international level Examples of good practice in terms of practical toolsare presented from several countries before an overall evaluation is offered on thecurrent state of the art and whether the right balance has been achieved in policy andpractice in this area.

work-Chapter 3 by Tsutsumi and Shimazu focused on preventive measures forworkplace mental health and the development of guidelines for the primary pre-vention for mental health at work These guidelines were developed following asystematic review of primary prevention measures for occupational mental healthand a consensus meeting by experts and practitioners in the occupational healthfield These guidelines for primary prevention for mental health at work considerthree preventive strategies—workplace improvement, self-care training, andsupervisor training The guidelines proposed take into account different levels ofresearch evidence, and are considered as recommendations for those charged withmanaging psychosocial factors in the workplace

Insights from the Asia Pacific are provided in Chap.4from Bailey, Cheng, Idris,and Arphorn, where policy and practice were discussed in a focus group withrepresentatives from Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Thailand Differences inregulatory approaches were discussed, and in some countries, policy in the area ofpsychosocial factors at work was very limited, suggesting the need for translation ofevidence into policy

Focusing specifically on South Korea, Chap 5 by Park, introduces howwork-related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and job stress are handled

in South Korea and presents the statistics, guidelines, and policies related to theseissues and describes strategies to prevent and manage them South Korea lagsbehind other developed countries in the development of guidelines for occupationalsafety and health, but nevertheless has made some progress in terms of reducingwork-related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, but not job stress

In Chap 6, Yulita, Idris, and Dollard present a systematic narrative review of afacet-specific climate for psychosocial safety (psychosocial safety climate [PSC])that has been featured in the literature PSC refers to policies, practices, and pro-cedures for the protection of workers’ psychological health and safety (Dollard andBakker 2010, p 580) The review considered PSC in terms of its history, role,impact, and research trend Thirteen peer-reviewed journal articles qualified for thereview For comparative purposes, the review also considered 75 otherpeer-reviewed journal articles on safety-related work climates [safety climate (n =59), psychological safety climate (n = 16)], published from 1980 to 2016 The

researchers identify the specificity of outcome related to PSC (e.g., physical health,psychological health, work motivation, work conditions) They also consider themain theorization of the PSC, whether as an antecedent, mediator, or moderator ofwork stress processes To obtain a greater understanding of PSC and its future role

in workers’ psychological health and work outcomes, the chapter considers somefuture challenges such as the simultaneous use of multiple climates, multilevelmodeling, research time lags, advanced research designs, and data analysis tools

In Chap.7, Parker and Zhang highlight the importance of designing work in thecontemporary work context of uncertainty and complexity Much research showsthat good work design has positive outcomes for individuals and organizations.Their chapter provides a state of the art review on the development of work designtheory and research, especially providing a brief overview of two popular workdesign perspectives: designing motivating work; and, designing safe and healthywork However, the primary goal of the chapter is to identify some important futureresearch directions due to the remarkable changes in the nature of workplace andworkforce

The issue of workplace violence is increasingly recognized as an importantoccupational health issue Despite this, empirical studies on workplace violence arelimited in Taiwan Chapter 8 is an investigation by Cheng and Pien into theworkplace violence problem and policy debates concerning workplace violence inTaiwan The chapter presents empiricalfindings on the workplace violence distri-butions, trends, antecedents, and associated health risks, based on large-scale sur-vey data of the general working population, in 2010 (N = 17,286) and 2013 (N =18,030) They investigate four types of violence: physical violence, verbal violence,psychological violence, and sexual harassment In particular, they pay attention toworkplace violence exposures by gender and occupation In an innovativeapproach, they go further and contextualize workplace violence in terms of pre-vailing climate (neighborhood-level workplace violence), and estimate its effects onmental health using multilevel analyses Theyfinalize the chapter by consideringimprovements in workplace violence measures, study designs to investigate thecasual mechanisms of workplace violence, and health consequences of the strate-gies for effective prevention of workplace violence

In Chap 9, Oakman, Maakip, and Keegel address the issue of psychosocialhazards in the development of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) They considerthe question about whether workplace factors vary by sociocultural factors andconsider the context of office workers in Malaysia and Australia MSDs are con-sidered to be a major occupational health problem contributing significantly toabsenteeism, disability, and loss of productivity The majority of studies related toMSDs have been conducted in developed countries such as Australia, and it isproposed that contributing factors linked with MSDs development might functiondifferently in developing countries like Malaysia, as a result of socioculturaldifferences

A key issue in the development of MSDs is the contribution of psychosocialfactors; however, this is not reflected in current management practices, which tend

to focus predominately on physical factors Malaysia and Australia have very

different societal structures, which influence the way work is organized and theexpectations employees have at their workplaces Therefore, it is plausible that thecontribution of workplace factors to MSDs development might differ Theresearchers use a survey tool to assess a range of workplace and personal factors,including work-life balance, job satisfaction, physical hazards, coping strategies,and psychosocial hazards Analysis was undertaken to assess relevant predictors foreach population and then a comparison undertaken to identify key differencesbetween the populations Despite similarities in the prevalence of musculoskeletaldiscomfort in both the Australian and Malaysian populations, differences wereidentified in the relative contribution of factors The chapter also discusses theresults from a qualitative study of female Malaysian office workers who were askedabout their coping strategies for persistent musculoskeletal pain.

Chapter10covers the area of PSC; Afsharian, Zadow, and Dollard investigatethe concept from two different cultural perspectives in the Asia Pacific: Iranian andAustralian healthcare contexts PSC may be conceptualized as the organizationalpractices, policies, and procedures for the protection of workers’ psychologicalhealth and safety To date, PSC theory has not been investigated at the boundaries

of the Asia Pacific For the first time, these investigators examined PSC as atheoretical construct in Iran, a developing country in the heart of the Middle East.The PSC-12 scale was translated into Farsi and administered among 33 workgroups in an Iranian hospital (n = 257) then compared with a sample of Australianhospital employees (n = 239, across 21 work groups) The researchers explore howPSC behaves as a group level phenomenon cross culturally, how PSC levels and jobdesign factors vary by country, how PSC as a group level phenomenon relates tojob design, psychological health and work outcomes

Part IV: Practical Approaches Toward Developing Healthy

Workplaces and Workers

In Chap.11, Potter, Fattori, and Dollard critically review eleven psychosocial riskmanagement tools (e.g., the Canadian Implementation Guide (Standard), the

UK HSE Management Standards) that are publicly available from the EuropeanUnion, Canada and Australia for organizations, offering practical guidelines fororganizations to readily adopt in order to decrease the impact of psychosocial risks(WHO2010) and addresses the WHO’s Global Plan of Action (GPA) on WorkerHealth (2008–2017) (WHO2013) The main objective is, therefore, twofold: (1) toprovide a resource that identifies and critically evaluates existing psychosocial riskmanagement toolkits, and therefore enables organizations to determine the mostsuitable tool for their needs; and (2) to facilitate the distribution and transference ofknowledge on these accessible organizational resources to all world regions, par-ticularly in the Asia-Pacific region Thus, this critical review aims to address anobjective of the GPA, and responds to an appeal to identify, collect, and

disseminate tools (and resources) for the evaluation and improvement of personalhealth resources and global psychosocial work environments (WHO2007).

In Chap.12, Inoue and colleagues examine the reliability and construct validity

of a new version of the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (New BJSQ), which sures an extended set of psychosocial factors at work by adding new scales/items tothe current version of the BJSQ Additional scales/items were extensively collectedfrom theoretical models of job stress and similar questionnaires in several countries.Scales/items werefield-tested and refined through a pilot internet survey Finally, an84-item standard version questionnaire, a 63-item recommended set, and a 23-itemshort version (141, 120, and 80 items in total when combined with the current57-item BJSQ) were developed In Japan, the number of workers with mental healthproblems is increasing and thus primary prevention of mental health problems is ahigh priority for both employers and employees Previous studies have shown that

mea-“assessing and improving work environment” effectively reduces mental health

Diagram (JSAD) have been developed with an aim to assess and improve theJapanese working environment The BJSQ and JSAD have been widely used inresearch and practice in thefield of mental health in the Japanese workplace (e.g.,Kobayashi et al.2008; Umanodan et al 2009)

In Chap.13, Nordin and Biding review research of Malaysian organizations toexamine the role of coping strategies (employee-based) and organizational inter-vention (organizational-based) in preventing and alleviating psychological distress

at work Since appropriate coping strategies are known to be effective in controllingpsychosocial stressors and may be the only measures available in most organiza-tions, organizations are particularly encouraged to promote more coping skillstraining among their employees as part of their legal and corporate responsibility(OSHA1994)

In Chap.14, Imamura and colleagues investigate an innovative way to deliverCognitive Behavioral Therapy based (CBT-based) treatment that is currently,widely practiced using computerized CBT [CCBT via internet (iCBT)] technology.The authors review and introduce three recent iCBT intervention studies, anddiscuss the possibility of utilization of iCBT program in the workplace Reasons forthe increasing popularity of iCBT have been the focus of constant attention onimproving symptoms or preventing onset of mental disorders It is proposed thatiCBT may be useful for people not able to access face-to-face therapies due togeographical or other challenges

In Chap 15, Martin presents findings from a quasi-experimental simulationstudy which examines how attitudes move toward employees with depression(affective, cognitive and behavioral forms of stigma) are influenced by contextualcues by reflecting an organization’s support for mental health and how these atti-tudes and context are associated with performance ratings of a depressed employee.There is a high prevalence of depression in working adults (lifetime prevalenceestimates are one infive people or greater) (WHO2009) which presents significantsocial and economic issues for organizations Development of strategies for

workplaces to utilize in assisting those in management positions to employees withmental health issues is needed.

Part V: Practical Approaches to the Management

of Psychosocial Risk

In this section, a range of practical approaches to managing psychosocial factors inthe workplace are presented These interventions are undertaken in Japan, China,and Australia

In Chap 16, Moriguchi, Sakuragi, and Ikeda discuss psychosocial factors insmall-scale enterprises in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region In many countries,occupational health service activities for small-scale and micro-scale enterprises areoften insufficient as they have limited access to human, economic, and technicalresources The demands of employers in those enterprises in relation to mentalhealth activities and established measures for improving the existing situation inJapan are discussed

Chapter17presents a review of health issues of workers engaged in operationsrelated to the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP)—amega-earthquake and subsequent tsunami occurred in 11 March 2011, followed by

a nuclear accident in northern Japan at the NPP of the Tokyo Electric PowerCompany (TEPCO) A large number of workers were impacted and a range ofhealth issues are described along with the actions taken to solve them A summary

of lessons learned from the experience for the disasters in the future is included

In Chap 18 Hu, Schaufeli, and Taris address the effect of a nation-specificstressor on wellbeing by focusing on Guanxi (i.e., human network, connection) inthe Chinese workplace Guanxi has been considered as a product of Confucianvalues and is inherent in the work ethics of the Chinese people This chapterdescribes the conceptual and cross-cultural development of the Job DemandsResource model (Schaufeli and Bakker2004) proposed in western cultures and howthe Chinese interpersonal phenomenon of Guanxi is incorporated

Finally, in Chap.19, McTernan, Dollard, Tuckey, and Vandenberg discuss theimpacts of remote work on workers and their families in Australian mines.Australia’s vast landscape is abundant in valuable mineral deposits However, theseresources are largely dispersed inland at a great distance from Australia’s coastalurban populations Although a review of the literature investigating health hazards

in the mining industry found quite an extensive range of research published, littleresearch was found specifically investigating psychosocial risks to health In thechapter, key demands pertinent to remote and nonremote mining workers, the keyresources that help workers manage job demands, and the form the job strainmanifests are discussed

Part VI: Conclusion

In the conclusion, a synthesis of the evidence is presented and some insights intochallenges and future directions for research, interventions, and policy developmentare provided

This book is an exciting contribution to thefield and it is For You! If you areworking in the field of occupational health and safety, human resource manage-ment, occupational health psychology, organizational psychology, or ergonomics,this book will provide valuable insights for your practice

The specific focus on the Asia Pacific makes it particularly relevant for thoseworking in the region The chapter provides specific detail on a topic, explainscurrent research and thinking, outlines practical implications, but importantly alsoprovides direction to further research in the related area It will be a valuableresource for academics, students, and practitioners across the Asia Pacific.This second book on psychosocial factors in the Asia Pacific is a must to have onyour desk for relevant and up to date information of a range of psychosocial issuesacross the region

Cox, T., & Grif fiths, A (2005) The nature and measurement of work-related stress: theory and practice In J R Wilson & N Corlett (Eds.), Evaluation of human work (3rd ed.) London: CRS Press.

Dollard, M (2007) Necrocapitalism: Throwing away workers in the race for global capital.

In J Houdmont & S McIntyre (Eds.), Occupational health psychology: European perspectives

on research, education and practice (Vol 2, pp 169 –193) Maia: ISMAI Publishers Dollard, M F., & Bakker, A B (2010) Psychosocial safety climate as a precursor to conducive work environment, psychological health problems, and employee engagement Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83, 579 –599.

Dollard, M F., Shimazu, S., Nordin, R B., & Brough, P (2014) Chapter 1 The context of psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Paci fic In M F Dollard, A Shimazu, R B Nordin,

P Brough, & M R Tuckey (Eds.), Psychosocial factors at work in the Asia Paci fic (pp 3–27) Dordrecht: Springer International Publishing.

Houtman, I., Jettinghoff, K., & Cedillo, L (2007) Raising awareness of stress at work in developing countries: A modern hazard in a traditional working environment Geneva: WHO (Protecting Workers ’ Health series No 6) Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO) International Labour Organization (2014) Regions Retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/global/ regions/lang –en/index.htm (4 Mar 2015).

Kawakami, N (2000) Preface Job stress in East Asia: Exchanging experiences among China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand In Proceedings of the First East-Asia Job Stress Meeting, Waseda University International Conference Centre Japan (pp 1 –2).

Kang, S Y., Staniford, A., Dollard, M F., & Kompier, M (2008) Knowledge development and content in occupational health psychology: A systematic analysis of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, and Work & Stress, 1996 –2006 In J Houdmont & S Leka & (Eds.), Occupational health psychology: European Perspectives on Research, Education and Practice (Vol 3, pp 27 –63) Maia: ISMAI Publishers.

Kobayashi, Y., Kaneyoshi, A., Yokota, A., & Kawakami, N (2008) Effects of a worker participatory program for improving work environments on job stressors and mental health among workers: A controlled trial Journal

OSHA (1994) Laws of Malaysia Act 514: Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 Kuala Lumpur: Government of Malaysia.

Schaufeli, W B., & Bakker, A B (2004) Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: A multisample study Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25,

Umanodan, R., Kobayashi, Y., Nakamura, M., Kitaoka-Higashiguchi, K., Kawakami, N., & Shimazu, A (2009) Effects of a worksite stress management training program with six short-hour sessions: A controlled trial among Japanese employees Journal of Occupational Health, 51, 294 –302.

Van den Bossche, S., Smulders, P., & Houtman, I (2006) Trends and risk groups in working conditions Hoofddrop: TNO Work & Employment.

World Health Organization (2007) Workers ’ health: Global plan of action Sitieth World Health Assembly Geneva: WHO Press.

World Health Organization (2009) Depression: What is depression? Retrieved from http://www who.int/topics/depression/en/ (4 Mar 2015).

World Health Organization (2010) WHO healthy workplace framework and model: Background and supporting literature and practices Geneva: WHO Press.

World Health Organization (2013) WHO Global Plan of Action on Workers ’ Health (2008– 2017): Baseline for implementation Global Country Survey 2008/2009 Executive Summary and Survey Findings Geneva: WHO Press.

Chapter 2

International Initiatives to Tackle

Psychosocial Risks and Promote Mental

Health in the Workplace: Is There a Good

Balance in Policy and Practice?

Stavroula Leka and Aditya Jain

Abstract This chapter reviews international initiatives for the management ofpsychosocial risks and the promotion of mental health in the workplace Thechapter first presents the relevant institutional framework including internationalorganizations, regional institutions, stakeholder associations, networks, and pro-fessional bodies It then proceeds to outline regulatory and nonbinding policyapproaches applicable at the international level Finally, an overall evaluation isoffered on the current state of the art and whether the right balance has beenachieved in policy and practice in this area

Keywords Psychosocial risks
Mental health in the workplace
Policy
Practice

Introduction

Work-related psychosocial factors refer to aspects of work organization, design andmanagement such as work demands, organizational support, rewards, and inter-personal relationships When these factors are not managed well in the workplacethey can represent hazards that have the potential to cause harm on individualhealth, safety, and wellbeing, on organizations (e.g., through sickness absence,reduced productivity, human error) and on society (e.g., increased disabilitypensions, healthcare costs, etc.) (e.g., WHO2008) Psychosocial risk refers to thepotential of psychosocial hazards to cause harm (BSI2011)

Work-related stress is closely associated with exposure to psychosocial hazardsand is defined, for example, on the UK Health & Safety Executive website as

S Leka ( &)

Centre for Organizational Health and Development, School of Medicine,

University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

e-mail: stavroula.leka@nottingham.ac.uk

A Jain

Nottingham University Business School, Nottingham, UK

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

A Shimazu et al (eds.), Psychosocial Factors at Work in the Asia Paci fic,

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-44400-0_2

23

“the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demandplaced on them at work.” The European Agency for Safety & Health at Work(EU-OSHA) website states that“people experience stress when they perceive thatthere is an imbalance between the demands made of them and the resources theyhave available to cope with those demands.” When pressure at work is chronic andunmanageable, it results in work-related stress which is recognized as a negativeexperience resulting from exposure to poor working conditions (psychosocialand/or physical) (Cox1993; Cox and Griffiths2010; WHO2008).

International Initiatives to Prevent and Manage

Psychosocial Risks

A number of significant developments toward the prevention and management ofpsychosocial risks have been achieved at the international, regional (e.g.,European), and national level These include both regulatory approaches such asILO conventions, European Union directives, and national legislation, as well as

‘non-binding/voluntary’ approaches which may take the form of specifications,guidance, social partner agreements, and standards This chapter clarifies theinstitutional framework of relevance to the prevention of psychosocial risks,identifying the key institutions which play a role in managing psychosocial risks,and highlights the key regulatory and nonregulatory approaches taken by theseinstitutions

Institutional Framework

International Organizations

A number of international organizations such as the International LaborOrganization (ILO), World Health Organization (WHO), International SocialSecurity Association (ISSA), Organization for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment (OECD), and World Bank have been active in the prevention andmanagement of psychosocial risks and promotion of mental health through researchand advocacy, as well as through the development and implementation of specificinitiatives The contributions of the ILO, and the WHO, in this area, have been themost significant at the global level and are discussed in the next sections on reg-ulatory and nonregulatory/voluntary approaches

The ILO has been committed to the prevention and management of work-relatedstress and psychosocial risks since the 1970s, and has developed a number of policyinstruments as well as guidance, tools, and training material The current work ofthe WHO on occupational health is governed by the Global Plan of Action on

Workers’ Health 2008–2017, endorsed by the World Health Assembly in 2007.Objective two of the global plan, specifies actions “to protect and promote health atthe workplace,” and states that “the assessment and management of health risks atthe workplace should be improved by: defining essential interventions for pre-vention and control of mechanical, physical, chemical, biological and psychosocialrisks in the working environment” (WHO2007a, p 6) The WHO has contributed

to this area through publication of research and guidance documents, and opment of tools and resources

devel-Proactive and preventive social security is a pillar of ISSA’s vision, and involvesthe promotion of health and support of employment and activity ISSA recognizesthat while prevention efforts over the past decades have resulted in many positiveoutcomes, numerous challenges to workers’ health remain such as the increasingprevalence of psychosocial issues which require more complex approaches toprevention; therefore the ISSA has been calling and advocating for a more holisticapproach toward promoting health and safety (ISSA2012)

The OECD recognizes that tackling mental ill-health of the working-age ulation is a key issue for labor market and social policies in OECD countries, whosegovernments are increasingly recognizing that policy has a major role to play inkeeping people with mental ill-health in employment or bringing those outside ofthe labor market back to it, and in preventing mental illness The OECD MentalHealth and Work Project is examining how the broader education, health, social,and labor market policy challenges for mental health and work are being tackled in

pop-a number of OECD countries (OECD2012)

The World Bank works to enhance the awareness and understanding of mentaland psychosocial health as a development concern by ensuring that mental andpsychosocial health are incorporated into operations within the development ofmore long-term policies, strategies, plans, and resources to ensure sustainability(Rockhold and McDonald2008) However, its activities in this area are not solelyfocused on work and employment, but on broader issues, particularly those in thecontext of conflict affected countries

Regional Institutions

A number of regional organizations have adopted or intend to adopt policies thatmay lead to integration of national activities at the regional level Regional insti-tutions include the European Union (EU), African Union (AU), Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS),Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Cooperation Council for the Arab States ofthe Gulf (CCASG), South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC),Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), and the Economic CooperationOrganization (ECO) among others While a number of regional institutions havedeveloped broad framework strategies which are relevant to workers’ safety, health,and wellbeing (for example the UNASUR Health Institute—ISAGS, the AU’s

Social Policy Framework for Africa), only the European Union has developed lawsand policies that apply throughout the member states of the EU.

At the European level, the decision-making process in general and theco-decision procedure in particular involve three main institutions: the EuropeanParliament, the Council of the EU, and the European Commission (EC) In addition

to the main EU institutions, the EU has a number of other institutions and bodiesthat play specialized roles Two tripartite specialized institutions, the EuropeanAgency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), and the European Foundationfor the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), play animportant role in managing psychosocial risks and promoting mental health in theworkplace Key policy initiatives from the EU are also reviewed in the followingsections on regulatory and nonregulatory/voluntary approaches

Stakeholder Associations, Networks, and Professional Bodies

Social dialogue is a mode of governance in the area of social policies, includingpolicies on occupational safety and health It comprises discussions, consultations,negotiations, and joint actions undertaken by social partner or stakeholder organi-zations such as federations of employers and workers, as well as experts in thefield

to participate in social policy decision making at international, regional, and toral level (Lawrence and Ishikawa 2005) There are a number of stakeholderorganizations active in the field of managing psychosocial risks and promotingmental health at work

sec-The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is the global voice of theworld’s working people Its main areas of activity include trade union and humanrights; economy, society, and the workplace; equality and nondiscrimination; andinternational solidarity In 2010, the ITUC Congress Resolutions on Decent Work,called on the ITUC and regional organizations, working together with Global Unionspartners and affiliates to “work with the ILO to campaign for the extension of socialprotection to all; work for the improvement of occupational health and safety in allcountries, including as relates to exposure to hazardous chemicals, psychosocialhazards and other occupational injuries and accidents” (ITUC2010, p 17).The International Organization of Employers (IOE) is the largest network of theprivate sector in the world In social and labor policy debate taking place in the ILO,across the UN and multilateral system, and in the G20 and other emerging pro-cesses, the IOE is the recognized voice of business The IOE supports nationalbusiness organizations in guiding corporate members in matters of internationallabor standards, business and human rights, corporate social responsibility (CSR),occupational safety and health (OSH), and international industrial relations.The IOE has a number of guides and factsheets for employers to raise awareness ofissues and to promote good practice in workers’ safety, health, and wellbeing(e.g IOE2010,2012)

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an independent international organizationfor promoting public–private cooperation The World Economic Forum is com-mitted to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, aca-demic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.The WEF established the Global Agenda Council on Wellbeing and Mental Health,which gives wellbeing and mental health recognition within a broader healthcontext, and included them as a specific agenda on the UN’s post-2015 develop-ment charter The Council’s current activities are focused on wellbeing and mentalhealth in the workforce (WEF2013).

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is the world’s largestdeveloper of voluntary international standards, which are developed through globalconsensus International standards give state of the art specifications for products,services, and good practice, helping to make industry more efficient and effective.The ISO 10075 series standards which establish principles and requirements for themeasurement and assessment of mental workload and specify the requirements formeasurement instruments are relevant to thisfield of work (ISO2004)

In addition to these organizations, a number of international professionalbodies/associations are active in the field of managing work-related stress andpromoting wellbeing at work These include the International Commission onOccupational Health (ICOH), the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), and

a number of regional associations ICOH is an international nongovernmentalprofessional society whose aims are to foster the scientific progress, knowledge anddevelopment of occupational health and safety in all its aspects ICOH is recognized

by the United Nations as a nongovernmental organization (NGO), and has closeworking relationships with ILO, WHO, and ISSA In 1996, the InternationalCommission on Occupational Health created its scientific committee on WorkOrganization and Psychosocial Factors (ICOH-WOPS) In 1999, the EuropeanAcademy of Occupational Health Psychology (EAOHP) was established and in

2005, the Society for Occupational Health Psychology (SOHP) was founded in theUnited States Other regional associations have been formed since which includethe Asia-Pacific Academy for Psychosocial Factors at Work, the Latin AmericanResearch Network of Researchers on Psychosocial Factors at Work (RIFAPT), andthe Ibero-American Network for Work-related Psychosocial Risks (RIPSOL).The following sections outline regulatory and nonregulatory/voluntary approa-ches and instruments developed by some key institutions of the ones outlined above

of relevance to the prevention of psychosocial risks

Regulatory Approaches

The regulatory approach, typically characterized by‘legal instruments’, is defined

as a policy relying primarily on the authority and power of the state—ultimately itslegitimate monopoly on the means of coercion—in the construction, operation, andimplementation, including enforcement of arrangements at international, national,

or subnational level (Kirton and Trebilcock 2004) Statutes or regulations innational legal systems are generally taken as prototypical of legal instruments(Abbott et al 2000) At the intergovernmental level they can take the form oflegally binding treaties, conventions, and directives.

ILO Conventions

International labor standards are legal instruments drawn up by the ILO’s stituents (governments, employers, and workers) and set out basic principles andrights at work These standards can be either conventions or recommendations ILOConventions are legally binding international treaties that may be ratified bymember states, which lay down the basic principles of a labor standard to beimplemented by ratifying countries They differ from recommendations, whichserve as nonbinding guidelines Recommendations can be used to supplement aConvention by providing more detailed guidelines on how it could be applied orthey can be autonomous, i.e., not linked to any Convention ILO Conventionsrelevant to the prevention and management of psychosocial risks are presented inTable2.1

con-Table 2.1 ILO Conventions relevant to the prevention and management of psychosocial risks

Document Description of relevance

C155 Occupational Safety and Health

Convention, ILO, 1981 and its Protocol of 2002

The Convention provides for the adoption of a coherent national occupational safety and health policy, as well as action to be taken by governments and within enterprises

to promote occupational safety and health, and to improve working conditions

The Convention states that “each Member shall, in the light of national conditions and practice, and in consultation with the most representative organizations

of employers and workers, formulate, implement and periodically review a coherent national policy on occupational safety, occupational health, and the working environment ”

The policy should take into account, “relationships between the material elements of work and the persons who carry out or supervise the work, and adaptation of machinery, equipment, working time, organization of work and work processes to the physical and mental capacities of the workers ”

C159 Vocational Rehabilitation and

Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention,

ILO, 1983

This Convention provides for the adoption of a policy at the national level which shall aim to ensure that appropriate vocational rehabilitation measures are made available to all categories of disabled persons, and at promoting employment opportunities for disabled persons in the open labor market This policy shall be developed by taking into consideration national conditions and practice and the representative organizations of employers and workers

(continued)

Table 2.1 (continued)

Document Description of relevance

(including representative organizations of and for disabled persons) shall be consulted on the implementation

According to the Convention, “the term disabled person means an individual whose prospects of securing, retaining and advancing in suitable employment are substantially reduced as a result of a duly recognized physical or mental impairment ”

C111 Discrimination (Employment and

Occupation) Convention, ILO, 1958

The Convention concerning discrimination in respect of employment and occupation (which include access to vocational training, access to employment and to particular occupations, and terms and conditions of employment) provides for the adoption of a policy at the national level which shall promote, by methods appropriate to national conditions and practice, equality

of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation, with a view to eliminating any discrimination For the purpose of this Convention the term discrimination includes

(a) any distinction, exclusion, or preference made on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction, or social origin, which has the effect

of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation

(b) such other distinction, exclusion, or preference which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation

as may be determined by the Member concerned after consultation with representative employers ’ and workers ’ organizations, where such exist, and with other appropriate bodies

C187 Promotional Framework for Occupational

Safety and Health Convention, ILO, 2006

This Convention aims at promoting a preventative safety and health culture and progressively achieving a safe and healthy working environment It requires ratifying States to develop, in consultation with the most representative organizations of employers and workers,

a national policy, national system, and national program

on occupational safety and health The national policy shall be developed in accordance with the principles of Article 4 of the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No 155), and the national systems and programs shall be developed taking into account the principles set out in relevant ILO instruments

European Union Legislation

The main piece of legislation on health and safety in the EU is the FrameworkDirective 89/391/EEC on Safety and Health of Workers at Work Even though theDirective does not include the terms‘work-related stress’ or ‘psychosocial risk’, itasks employers to ensure workers’ health and safety in every aspect related to work

It requires employers to“adapt the work to the individual, especially as regards thedesign of work places, the choice of work equipment and the choice of working andproduction methods, with a view, in particular, to alleviating monotonous work andworking at a predetermined work-rate, developing a coherent overall preventionpolicy which covers technology, organization of work, working conditions, socialrelationships and the influence of factors related to the working environment.” Inthis sense, there is an indirect reference to, and provision for, risks related to thepsychosocial work environment (Ertel et al.2010; Leka et al.2011) However, thereare several other pieces of legislation in the EU that are relevant to the prevention ofpsychosocial risks (for a full list see Leka et al.2015)

Nonbinding/Voluntary Approaches

In addition to regulatory approaches, ‘non-binding/voluntary’ approaches whichdirectly refer to psychosocial risks, and work-related stress have been initiatedincluding social partner agreements in the EU, standards as well as guidance andtools These initiatives have taken place partly due to the growing recognition thatgood psychosocial risk management also goes beyond legal requirements (Jain

et al.2011) Examples of nonbinding approaches take the form of tions, resolutions, agreements, and guidance developed by international organiza-tions such as the ILO, WHO, and the European Commission, among others

recommenda-ILO Initiatives

Key nonbinding initiatives and approaches developed by the ILO to addresswork-related stress and psychosocial risks, include the ILO OSH-MS, ILOrecommendation—R194, the SOLVE programme, and the Stress Checkpoints.Psychosocial Factors at Work: Recognition and Control

This report of the Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health (ILO1986)examined the subject of psychosocial factors at work and their consequences,emphasizing health issues It describes the nature of such factors as related to healthand the methods of identifying psychosocial factors It also examines the means of

preventing, reducing, or eliminating the psychosocial problems that arise inworkplaces It proposes a series of measures which could be taken at the enterpriselevel, national and international levels, with a view to giving greater importance tothe psychosocial aspects of programs for the improvement of working conditionsand environment and the promotion of the health and wellbeing of workers.

Preventing Stress at Work: Conditions of Work Digest

The conditions of work digest on preventing stress at work is a guidance documentwhich provides an introduction to the issue of work-related stress, identifies trendsand issues in an international perspective, and includes an analysis of 19 casestudies on stress prevention programs from across the ILO regions It is considered

as essential reading for policy-makers in government agencies, employers’ andworkers’ organizations, health professionals, trainers, consultants, managers, andworkers’ representatives concerned with the complex and challenging problem ofwork-related stress (ILO1993)

ILO-OSH 2001 Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health ManagementSystems

The ILO-OSH 2001 guidelines present practical approaches and tools for assistingorganizations, national institutions, employers, and workers in establishing,implementing, and improving occupational safety and health (OSH) managementsystems, with the aim of reducing work-related injuries, ill health, diseases,incidents, and deaths, specifically defined ‘as negative impacts on employee healtharising from exposure to chemical, biological, physical, work-organizational, andpsychosocial factors at work’ (ILO2001) Implementation of the guidelines would,therefore, also enable national institutions and organizations to put in place systems

to prevent and manage psychosocial risks

Violence at Work

This guidance document examines aggressive acts that occur in workplacesbullying, mobbing, and verbal abuse It provides information and evidence aboutthe incidence and severity of workplace violence in countries around the world,evaluates various causal explanations and details social and economic costs “Itevaluates the effectiveness of workplace anti-violence measures and responses such

as regulatory innovations, policy interventions, workplace design that may reduce

risks, collective agreements and various best practice options worldwide” (ILO

2006, p 362)

ILO Recommendation: R194 Revised Annex

On 25 March 2010, the governing board of the ILO approved a new list ofoccupational diseases which has been designed to assist countries in the prevention,recording, notification and, if applicable, compensation of diseases caused by work

Occupational Diseases and the Recording and Notification of OccupationalAccidents and Diseases, for the first time mental and behavioral disorders in theworkplace have been recognized as occupational diseases, which result frompsychosocial hazards Section 2.2.4 of ILO recommendation—R194 revised annex

is titled“Mental and behavioural disorders,” and includes:

• “2.4.1 Post-traumatic stress disorder”

• “2.4.2 Other mental or behavioural disorders not mentioned in the precedingitem where a direct link is established scientifically, or determined by methodsappropriate to national conditions and practice, between the exposure to riskfactors arising from work activities and the mental and behavioural disorder(s)contracted by the worker” (ILO2010)

SOLVE

The ILO’s SOLVE program, is an interactive educational program, based on therecognition of the interdependent relationships between psychosocial factors andother health-related behaviors and their underlying causes in the workplace (workorganization, working conditions, labour relations) The program promotes thedesign of enterprise level policies and intervention programs to improve workingconditions and reduce work-related stress from an occupational safety and healthperspective by incorporating psychosocial hazards into the risk assessment and riskmanagement strategy, involving both employers and workers through bipartiteOSH committees at the workplace level

Stress Checkpoints

The ILO Stress Checkpoints manual (ILO2012) has been prepared to reflect theincreased necessity for measures to deal with problems causing stress in theworkplace The 50 checkpoints included in the manual are based on the experiences

of the experts who contributed to its review and preparation for implementation ofstress prevention in the workplace The checkpoints represent simple, low-costworkplace improvements readily applicable in different working situations As thecheckpoints cover broad areas, users of the manual are encouraged to take multi-faceted actions that take into account local situations.

Initiatives in the European Union

BUSINESSEUROPE (private sector employers), UEAPME (small businesses), andCEEP (public employers)—have concluded a number of agreements that have beenratified by the Council of Ministers and are now part of European legislation such

as parental leave (1996), part-time work (1997) and fixed-term contracts (1999).The social partners have also concluded‘voluntary’ agreements on telework (2002),work-related stress (2004), and harassment and violence at work (2007) Otherrelevant recent initiatives include the European Pact for Mental Health (2008) andthe related European Parliament resolution on Mental Health (2009)

Framework Agreement on Work-Related Stress

The framework agreement on work-related stress clarifies the relevance of theFramework Directive 89/391/EEC for the management of work-related stress andpsychosocial risks The agreement states that “Stress is a state, which is accom-panied by physical, psychological or social complaints or dysfunctions and whichresults from individuals feeling unable to bridge a gap with the requirements orexpectations placed on them.” Under the agreement, the responsibility for deter-mining the appropriate measures rests with the employer These measures arecarried out with the participation and collaboration of workers and/or their repre-sentatives These measures can be collective, individual, or both They can beintroduced in the form of specific measures targeted at identified stress factors or aspart of an integrated stress policy encompassing both preventive and responsivemeasures (European Social Partners2004)

Framework Agreement on Harassment and Violence at Work

The Framework Agreement on Harassment and Violence at Work states that

“Harassment and violence are due to unacceptable behaviour by one or moreindividuals and can take many different forms, some of which may be more easilyidentified than others The work environment can influence people’s exposure toharassment and violence.” The agreement aims to increase awareness and

understanding of employees, workers, and their representatives of workplaceharassment and violence, and to provide employers, workers, and their represen-tatives at all levels with an action-oriented framework to identify, manage, andprevent problems of harassment and violence at work According to the agreement,enterprises need to have a clear statement outlining that harassment and violencewill not be tolerated The procedures to be followed where cases arise should beincluded (European Social Partners2007).

European Pact for Mental Health and WellBeing

In 2008, a high level conferencefinalized the development of the European Pact forMental Health and Wellbeing which recognized that mental health and wellbeingare a key resource for the success of the EU as a knowledge-based society andeconomy and for the realization of the objectives of the Lisbon strategy, on growthand jobs, social cohesion and sustainable development The purpose of the Pact was

to establish an EU-level framework for exchange and cooperation on mental healthchallenges and opportunities The Pact hasfive priorities, with ‘Mental Health inWorkplace Settings’ being one of them It stated that “employment is beneficial tophysical and mental health…action is needed to tackle the steady increase in workabsenteeism and incapacity, and to utilise the unused potential for improvingproductivity that is linked to stress and mental disorders” (European Pact for MentalHealth and Wellbeing2008) The Pact also called on the EC to issue a proposal for

a Council Recommendation on Mental Health and Wellbeing

European Parliament Resolution T6-0063/2009 on Mental

Health

In 2009, the European Parliament passed a nonlegislative resolution on mentalhealth The resolution, called on“the Member States to encourage research into theworking conditions which may increase the incidence of mental illness, particularlyamong women;” it called on “employers to promote a healthy working climate,paying attention to work-related stress, the underlying causes of mental disorder atthe workplace, and tackling those causes,” and it called on “the Commission torequire businesses and public bodies to publish annually a report on their policy andwork for the mental health of their employees on the same basis as they report onphysical health and safety at work” (European Parliament 2009)